49ers could use rookie QB Driskel on special teams

It's not often you see a quarterback on special teams as anything other than a holder, but San Francisco 49ers rookie passer Jeff Driskel isn't a typical quarterback.

And Chip Kelly is certainly no ordinary head coach.

The 6-foot-4, 234-pound Driskel is highly athletic (he ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash), which could be why the 49ers selected him in the sixth round of the draft despite Driskel's shaky production as a college quarterback.

Now, the team is exploring the option of using him on special teams.

"He’s just a football player," Kelly said, according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area. "He just wants to play football and whatever he can do to make a team, he’s going to try to do it."

Special teams coordinator Derius Swinton suggested the 49ers could use Driskel as a personal protector on the punt team, which would allow them to run offensive plays out of the formation.

"(Driskel's) a guy that when he was at Florida, you saw him run all over," Swinton said. "It comes down to a 53-man roster and if you do carry a guy like that, you just look at numbers.

"For me, I’m playing the numbers game. I try to squeeze every little bit out of it. You have a guy like Thad Lewis, when I had him as a rookie, Thad will tell you he covered every kick for us on the practice squad. So if you have a quarterback that can do that, it pays dividends for us."

Driskel doesn't figure to push for the starting quarterback job - he's fourth on the depth chart, but has taken third-team reps while Colin Kaepernick recovers from surgery - so perhaps playing on special teams will not only help him make the team, but also acclimate to the speed of the pro game.